title: Consultation to line staff and its impact on the care of chronic patients.
abstract: This study was carried out to determine whether long term chronic deteriorated patients could be taught skills in activities of daily living by therapy aides to improve their quality of life in the hospital. It was designed as a controlled trial comparing active intervention in the experimental wards with routine nursing care in the control wards. The results showed that, even in such a short period as 3 months, active treatment produced results which were statistically significantly better than the controls. It is concluded that mental hygiene therapy aides, given adequate support and encouragement, can make measurable and observable improvements in the behavior of long term patients. The implications of the results are considered.
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006783:Hospitals, State / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011566:Psychiatric Aides / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011788:Quality of Life